Grilled Beef Recipes

Grilling is one cooking method that has the greatest impact on the final dish’s flavor profile and therefore the greatest impact on the wines that can be paired successfully. Grilling adds smoky flavors and bitter, charred notes to a cut of meat. These elements of flavor call for something sweet and fruity to help balance out the bitterness. The sweetness doesn’t have to come from sugar, it can come simply from intense fruitiness, but a little sugar doesn’t hurt.

There are several types of wine that typically have a touch of sweetness to them. Malbec from Argentina, Shiraz from Australia and Zinfandel from California are all a bit sweeter than a typical red wine and can pair wonderfully with grilled beef preparations. Perhaps coincidentally, none of these grapes are particularly known as tannic. This also works in their favor. Tannins can impart an underlying bitterness to a wine and in the case of pairing a wine with a slightly bitter food, like grilled beef, there is no need for additional bitterness. All three of these tend to be fruity wines that are bright and boldly flavored, perfect for most grilled cuts of beef.

Often, larger cuts of beef are grilled and then sliced for service. When grilling a larger cut of beef, you reduce the ratio of char to meat and cut back on the need for sweetness and fruitiness in wine. In the case of a grilled dish like this, you have additional options available to you. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are ideal partners, as is Carmenere. Chianti Riserva and Rioja Reserva are attractive options, as well. Syrah from the New World might just be the best pairing for a well-aged strip loin grilled whole. The peppery, lightly gamy nature of Syrah coupled with its relatively high acid and moderate tannin structure matches up perfectly with the combination of flavors encountered with a grilled loin of beef or other large cut.